It's been a busy time filled with work, guests, and secret knitting. Wishing I could share those projects with you guys, but can't until my contracts say I can! So, guess I should take a look at some of the other things filling my time lately!

First up, soon after I last posted, one of my best friends came to visit. I was so happy to get to visit with her, as we've been best friends since undergrad, and I haven't seen her in about 2 years! We got in some site-seeing, hiking, and good food! Has anyone ever been to Paseo? I had seriously never been until her visit, and wow! I need to go back stat! Here we are on our hike:

Next up is #theufoproject (you can play along on Instagram, also, if you would like!) that I've started/been working on. Once I managed to finish up my secret knitting, I had about a week free where I could work on "for fun" knitting. I decided to work on UFOs, as that was a New Year's goal of mine, and I have barely made a dent yet! I went hardcore for a full week, and am now back to designing again. However, it was actually a lot of fun to see how far I could get with my projects. I'm going to attempt to keep up at least one UFO while designing until I get to a reasonable number of UFO projects. ;o)

Here's some of my progress on them. I knit about 9" more on my blanket (stalled out 6 or 7 years!), converted a failed hat design into a pair of successful designed mitts, sewed pieces of a purse together (that was 3-4 years old), and turned the heel on a pair of socks (also about 2-3 years old). Whew! I'm feeling pretty good about this!

Now, let's talk a bit more about my new mitts! These babies were knit using Tidal Twinkle dyed by Tell Tale Yarns. They will be another addition to my Candide Knits Collection. I will be needing testers for these mitts soon, so let me know if you'd like to be a tester!! I also highly recommend the yarn used for the mitts, as it's super soft, and the bling is not too too bright, just enough to shimmer in the light and it just makes me happy. In addition, the high twist makes this yarn very bouncy and durable. Love it! (I am currently working on a matching hat, also, as can be evidenced by that photo...)

Last thing I want to mention is my new pair of swanky glasses! I'm in love with these guys, I think they're super adorable! I was actually told that they were discontinued, and I couldn't have them... So, I was SO SURPRISED when the rep managed to find a single pair after searching around for me! :oD Oh, and, yes, that is a new hair color!

I'm not sure how many of you saw my last post about the Evolution of My Hair, but feel free to click the link and catch up before swinging back here to see the updates. ;o) I am still dyeing my hair all sorts of colors, and have not gotten tired of all the fun combinations there are! To not do too much overlap, I'll start off with the color I was when I moved to Seattle.

Remember this color? I loved it, and it was coincidentally, the perfect color to move to Seattle with! I didn't realize that Seattle is considered "The Emerald City," so it was very serendipitous. While fun, I think I felt that it was a bit dark for the large amount of gray that I was encountering, and so I went back to blonde to brighten things up again! :oD

I was super happy with the blonde, but kept wondering if I could pull off the gray hair trend I was seeing everywhere. At first I thought it was a silly thing, I'm going to go gray anyways... why do I want to go gray now? But the more and more I saw, the more I wanted it!

My stylist went heavy with the lavender and gray dye so that it would last longer and fade nicely. I think this color faded the nicest out of all the colors I've ever gone before.

Despite roots, I love the contrast between the gray and roots! Normally, I hate seeing the roots coming in, and here, I let it go maybe even a smidge longer than I should have. But, once again, it was time for a change. With my hair this light, I wanted pastels. So many pastels.

THIS many pastels!! Definitely one of my more fun colors, I was amazed by my hair every time I looked in the mirror! So.In.Love. I came close to asking for the exact same thing, when it was time to update my hair, but instead I went with an old favorite.

Did you guess it? PINK! Not quite as bright as the last few times, but definitely just as fun. :o) Once again, I forgot the troubles with going my favorite color means that I can't wear a good portion of my wardrobe or my lip colors, also! So, I decided to go towards contrast colors again.

A tealy-blue (that's actually a bit lighter than this picture seems to indicate, but pretty close)! I'm seriously digging this color right now. I love how many different pieces of clothing this opens back up for me, not to mention lip colors. :o) I think this is the perfect color for the summery season.

I'm giving it a two thumbs up rating! ;o) Also, I want to buy every color of these silly miniature poang chairs from IKEA and just sit in them all the time. I can feel extra tall then! I'm so excited for these hair colors. One of these days I'll have to just do it picture only form from beginning to end. How fun would that be?? :oD

I had a hard time deciding what color I wanted to go this time... so I went with my favorite, pink! :o)

People were still loving this hair, but I have to say... it has faded to mostly green, and my roots are super noticeable. It was definitely time for an update again!

Good times with bleaching. She only bleached out the roots, so I looked a bit goofy once it was done. As a side note, does anyone actually look good in this getup? Hahaha!

Second round matching my lip color! (that was starting to come off by this time b/c I scarfed down a bagel in between, ha!) Second round looks like color already, but it's a toner that helps with getting some pinkish pigments in, as well as some gray, dusty undertone. It was used to even out the green with the gnarly medium orange-yellow roots. In addition, it is conditioner deposited, so it helps to condition the hair, too!

And after the rinse, ta-da! I actually love it already! :oD I don't know what the color would've dried like, but it looks pretty cool like this. One more step... just need to brighten up the color!

Oh yeah, definitely amp-ing up the color! My hope was for a dusty medium pink, but the way these things go, it's usually better to go a bit darker/more intense than what you want b/c it'll last longer that way. :o)

I ended up taking this picture the day after, right towards the end of the wind storm going through Seattle! Haha. But it shows off the color pretty well. :oD The ends are almost exactly what I was hoping for, and the top is a bit brighter, but I love it, and as it washes out, I think it's going to hit the perfect shade. My only problem now is that I can't figure out what lip colors to wear with this! Every time I change hair colors, I have to rediscover my new "favorites" in make-up. Ah well, small price to pay... ;op

Welcome!

*excited face*!! My @kindred.red yarn came from the raffle drawing I won from @bornandraisedknits fund raiser!!!
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I forgot that it was arriving, and then ripped it open when I saw it!! Eeps! The colors are even better in person! 🤤
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Should I cast on something now so that it can count for #theufoproject ?? 😂
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But seriously... It's so gorgeous. I can stop hugging it!!
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#kindredred #yarnlove #knittinginspo #pocdesignersandcrafters #asianknittersofinstagram #knittingwithtexture #knitknitknit #knitallthethings #knitlove #loveknitting #knitstagram

If you weren't following me last year, then you probably don't know how many UFOs I have. Would you like to guess? I'll put the answer at the end of this post.
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Last summer, I ran #theufoproject for three months, and I'd love to do it again!
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What is The UFO Project? It's a goal to reduce the number of UFOs I have laying around. From June 1 - Aug 31st, I am not going to CO any new projects (excepting designs), and I'm going to work on either finishing old projects or frogging them.
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In an effort to keep myself on track, I'm inviting you all to also participate! There's no strict rules, but it's a lot of fun to be working on this together! 🥰
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You make your own rules (like maybe, for every 2 projects you finish up or frog, you get to cast on for 1 new one), and just use the hashtag #theufoproject so we can all see the progress you're making! It's amazing how much stuff you get to reclaim at the end of this!!
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So, most people will say they have so many UFOs, but so far, I think I still shock people with how many I have. 😂
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Last year I had 50+ UFOs, and managed to get down to under 35!!! 💪🏽 This year, I think I'm likely to be around 45 UFOs, and have a goal to get under 25! 😜
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So, did you manage to guess how many I have? I'll be doing an official count next week... I really hope I don't embarrass myself by having even more than I'm even expecting...
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[Image description: UFOs knit by Noriko that includes: a sock that's about 6 years old, a mitt 3 years old, a sweater that's maybe 4 years old, and a shawl that's 1 year old.]
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#norichanknits #nowondermybagissoheavy #pocdesignersandcrafters #asianknittersofinstagram #knittersgonnaknit #knittersofinstagram #knittinginspo #knitallthethings #knitalong #knitstagram #knittinginspiration

Through the past 5 years of designing, I've changed and grown. It makes me happy to look through what I've created, but also it surprises me to see exactly what growing as a designer means.
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One of those is recognizing when there may be a flaw with a design. With this design, Kaiyo, I commonly heard the complaint that the ribbing was not enough to keep the rest of the capelet/poncho on shoulders.
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Because I'm unable to design full time, this has been haunting me for awhile. It took me a little while, but I'm now working on the update to add shaping to the ribbing to make this pattern more user friendly!
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I can't wait to get this update out to you! 💕
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#norichanknits #kaiyocapelet #pocdesignersandcrafters #asianknittersofinstagram #bluemoonfiberarts #yarnlove #knittinginspo #knittersgonnaknit #knittersofinstagram #knitlove #knitallthethings #knitknitknit #knitweardesign

About to cast on to revamp an old pattern! It took me years to find a perfect yarn to replace the original, and I think I finally did!!
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This yarn is @bluemoonfiberarts Crackpaca, an alpaca, merino, silk blend that is so squishtastic!!
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The stitch markers are by @pitterpatterpolymer (pink boba) and @sugarplumcircus (rose gold dino), and the bag is by @earlgreyfibercompany .
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#norichanknits #asianknittersofinstagram #stitchmarkers #knittingtools #knittinginspo #knittersgonnaknit #pocdesignersandcrafters #knitallthethings #knitstagram #knittersofinstagram #bluemoonfiberarts #yarnlove

Come join me at @fibergallery today (open until 8pm!!) to grab your copy of Drive in Movie shawl!!
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Done up in two skeins of Sweet Georgia's Bulletproof Sock, it's a dream to work up!
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Exclusive to pick up in person during the LYS Tour (through Sunday!!). It will be available on Ravelry on Monday. 🥰
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#norichanknits #driveinmovieshawl #sweetgeorgiayarns #yarnlove #crochetersofinstagram #crochet #crochetshawl #crochetinspo #crochetallday #lystour #fibergallery